St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1887-10-20
ST. JOHNSBURY'S COAL BUSINESS.
With Some Side Issues Partially Ventf-

With Some Side Issues Partially Venti
lated.
The Caledonian of July 21st, last
gave as matter of news the fact tina
the shipping point for coal to be uset
in this part of the state had beef
changed from MaQuam to Burlington
adding the following comment:
''This is a trifle incOnvenient for thi,
place as the Burlington and LamOille
road has not facilities for handling coal
there will probably be chronic semi
famine enough so at least to keep NJ
the price of coal. Coal was advanced
on the 18th and is about rs cents a tor
higher here now than year ago. A,
this time last year good portion OF
the winters supply was laid in but
hardly any has been delivered thus far.
What with advanced rates by the coal
combinations, slight advances on lake
rates, scarcity of cars, ETC., the dealers
prOphesy continued high rates."
The above was given simply as a
paragraph of current news which was
of considerable local interest. 1t was
the plain, unvarnished truth, without
bore with them a criticism. The Gale
DOMAIN isn't in the coal business it is
in the news business, and aims to give
facts to its readers. That is what it is
here for and that is what the people
take it for. Notwithstanding this fair
and truthful statement, the Republi-
can, an alleged newspaper printed in
this place, came out the following
week with an article attacking the
CaledOnian for it's publication of the
above facts, and saying among other
things that "nOthing more ridiculous
"can be imagined" and that the "aver-
cage school boy would know better
that "the statement that the Burling-
''ton and LamOille has not facilities for
"handling coal is simply absurd, and
"could only have been made by one
"whose ignorance of the subject is of
''the densest description" ETC., etc.
Let us examine this matter little
When the shipping point for coal was
changed from Maquam to Burlington
the Burlington and Lamoille road own
ed fifteen coal cars. AS soon as they
could do so, they procured 25 more,
making 40 cars in all, when the de-
mands upon the road required from
100 to 200. The Burlington and La
mobile road had no unloading facilities at
Burlington whatever, but they extern
ported derrick run by one horse with
a capacity of one boat load per day.
The coal business at Maquam had
heretofore required one two horse and
one steam derrick with capacity of
four boats per day. By reason of this
failure of unloading and transportation
facilities by the Burlington and La
noble road the boats loaded with coal
could not be unlOaded at Burlington
as fast as received and one firm in
this place received IL bill of $40 for
demurrage on boats in one week be-
cause of this delay. Things went on
in this way until the coal dealers be-
came discouraged and Disguised, and
until the strike was made in the mines,
and now it is impossible to procure IL
car OF. Lehigh egg coal at all, and it is
very uncertain if any more Lehigh egg
will be received here this fall. The
consequence is that consumers are
buying cheaper coal at a Lehigh
price. With IL thousand less tons de-
livered in town now than year ago at
this time, the prospect of cheap fuel
for this winter is not fiattering. These
are few facts, and the reader is now
invited to again peruse the quotations
from the Republican given above and
then decide who showed the "dense
ignorance" etc., etc. However, there
was reason for this TRADE against
the CaledOnian for ventilating this
coal business, though the fathers of it
endeavOred to cover up their tracks.
A few days after Col. Truman Fletcher
had been in Burlington on "official
business" a letter was written from
that town to the Montpelier Argus, and
undoubtedly instigated by him, from
which we copy:
"The new freight agreement entered
into not long ago, between the Bur
lington and Lamoille and Boston and
Lowell railroads gave Burlington
wholesale dealers an excellent oppOr-
tunity to extend their business east :;
so thinking that they saw a chance to
turn several honest pennies Lyman &
Co. and G. l.. Linsley, wholesale coal
dealers, effected combine with the
lde- Fairbanks syndicate, at st. Johns
bury, to supply that town with coal at
their own price. All parties concern
ed, it appears, were to make a good
thing of it. The best laid plans, how
ever, are sometimes spoiled. Col. T..
G. Fletcher, who has something to do
with ST. JOhnsbury, and also is ac-
qIainted NTH the board Of railroad COM
missiOners, winded the scheme, and at
once proceeded to call for cards and
open the pot. He came to Burlington,
and arranged with Messrs. Adsit &
Bigelow, large wholesale dealers, to
furnish the people of st. JOhnsbury
with all the coal they wanted at a low
er price, and the arrangement is being
carried out"
This lets the cat out of the bag. 1t
also suggests very strongly a matter
which is of vital interest to the people
of this section. The Caledonian has not
ed with feelings of regret if not alarm,
the exodus of SO many of the worthy
and valuable families of this place to
the West. 1t has endeavOred to prove
that ST. Johnsbury was on the whole
about as good a place to live in as